Carrier helmet



April 1962 w. c. GREENWOOD 3,028,059

CARRIER HELMET Filed Jan. 25, 1960 INVENTOR WALTER C. GREENWOOD BY MBW ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofilice 3,028,359 Patented Apr. 3, 1962 3,028,059 CARRIER HELMET Walter C. Greenwood, 1602 E. 73rd St., Indianapolis, Ind. Filed Jan. 25, 1960, Ser. No. 4,486 3 Claims. (Cl. 224) The present invention relates to a device which may be characterized as a carrier helmet.

It is well recognized that children and, to some extent, adults delight in carrying objects on their heads. It is not uncommon to see a small boy, on the way home from an errand to the grocery store, with a loaf of bread, a box of crackers or even a carton of eggs precariously balanced on his head. To satisfy that desire, while guarding against disaster, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a device designed and arranged to provide a relatively safe receptacle or enclosure for objects or articles to be carried, in conjunction with a snugly-fitting head piece, so that youngsters may relatively safely carry any objects desired on their heads.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in such a device, means whereby the carriage subassembly may be removably secured to the head piece and/ or may be replaced by some fanciful or decorative object to be secured to the head piece.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel carriage base, removably attachable to the head piece, and provided with means whereby partition elements selected from a kit of pieces of various sizes, may be selectively associated with the platform to define enclosures of selectively different sizes and/ or shapes.

Still further objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, my invention may be embodied in the forms illus trated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that change may be made in the specific constructions illustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claims is not violated.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a device constructed in accordance with the present invention, in use condition;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one form of head piece constituting an element of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a plan View of the platform or plate illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmental section through the assembly of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the head piece combined with a fanciful display article, in use position.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, it will be seen that I have illustrated, in FIG. 1, an assembled carrier helmet. One element of the illustrated embodiment of my invention is a head piece formed primarily of flexible sheet material such as cloth, leather, sheet plastic or the like. The head piece is shaped snugly to fit the head of a wearer, extending well down upon the brow of the wearer and having a caudal extension 11, the distal end 13 of which preferably extends substantially to the base of the neck of the wearer. Preferably, but not necessarily, the head piece will be provided with lateral tabs 12 which conform substantially to the conventional hair line in front of the wearers ears.

The extension 11 is formed with a longitudinal, substantially median split 14 which opens through the distal end 13 of the extension and extends to a point 15 Well above the occipital bulge 16 of the wearers skull. Thus, the extension 11 is divided into laterally-separated sections 17 and 18. One of these sections, for instance the section 17, is provided adjacent its distal end with a laterally extending, perforated strap 19 for cooperation with a buckle 20 carried adjacent the distal end of the other section, for

instance 18. Through the medium of the strap 19 and buckle 20, the lips of the split 14 may be adjustably drawn together, to snug the distal portions of the extension sections beneath the occipital bulge of the wearers head, thereby effectively and adjustably securing the head piece in place on the wearers head, and adapting the head piece to a wide range of head sizes.

As an incidental advantage resulting from this construction, it is to be noted that the location and extent of the split 14 are such that, when the helmet is worn by a young girl she may, if she so chooses, permit her pony tail to project through the upper portion of the split 14. While it is pointed out that adjustable means other than that shown may be used for adjustably closing the split 14, whatever means is used for that purpose should be of a character such as to apply the adjustable closing force to the sections 17 and 18 closely adjacent the distal ends of said sections, rather than at any point or points above the crest of the occipital bulge.

Means is preferably provided, at the crown region of the head piece, to define a relatively rigid, flat area which, when the head piece is in place, will define a substantially horizontal, upwardly-facing surface. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, such means comprises a plate or ring 21 of metal or suitably rigid synthetic material, permanently attached to the head piece as, for instance, by a plurality of rivets 22. Alternatively, a plate or ring similar to the element 21 might be secured to the inner surface of the head piece, or a contoured layer of sponge rubber or similar material (not shown) might be built up within the head piece to conform to the crown of the wearers head and to define a flat, upwardly presented, relatively rigid surface.

In any event, one element of a suitable separable fastening means will be carried by the head piece, within the boundaries of the flat crown surface. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, I have shown such an element at 23, comprising an upstanding cylinder having an outwardly and downwardly turned interrupted flange whose free edge is cammed in the manner of a conventional automobile radiator filler spout. Any other known type of separable fastening means may be used, without departing from the spirit of my invention, but I presently believe the illustrated form to have certain advantages over other known forms of fastening means.

A mating element 24 of such a separable fastening means, conforming in general structure to an automobile radiator filler cap, is secured to the under surface 25 of a carriage platform or plate 26. It will be understood, of course, that the element 24 may be engaged with the element 23 by passing the fingers of the element 24 through the slots interrupting the flange of the element 23 and then turning the element 24 to engage its fingers beneath the emitted edges of said flange.

The platform, plate or carriage 26 may take any desired form, so long as it presents an upwardly facing surface 27. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the carriage plate 26 is square, but it may, of course, take any polygonal or circular form. The upper surface 27 of said carriage plate is preferably provided with a plurality of trackways, variously spaced from the center of the carriage plate, for selective cooperative engagement of partition elements adapted to be mounted on the upper surface of the carriage to define an enclosure. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, those trackways take the form of slots parallel with the respective edges of the plate. Thus, a first group of slots 28 is arranged at varying distances from, and parallel with, the edge 29 of the plate 26; a second group of slots 30 is arranged at varying distances from the edge 31 and parallel therewith; a third group of slots 32 is arranged at varying distances from the edge 33 and parallel therewith; and a fourth group of slots 34 is arranged at varying distances from the edge 35 and parallel therewith. The slots 28 and 30 open, at their respective ends, through the plate edges 33 and 35, while the slots 52 and 34 open, at their respective ends, through the plate edges 29 and 31.

Partition elements of various lengths will be supplied as a kit with each helmet of the character hereinabove described, each such element being proportioned and designed for reception in any selected one of the abovedesoribed slots. Thus, in FIG. 1 I have shown a partition element 37 received in the innermost slot 28, a partition element 38 received in the innermost slot 30, a partition element 39 received in the innermost slot 32 and a partition element 40 received in the innermos L slot 34. When so arranged, the partition elements 37, 38, 39 and 40 meet and cooperate to define an upstanding enclosur within which an article or articles may be received and restrained against lateral movement relative to the platform 26' upon WhlClllhEY are supported.

Other partition elements, of different lengths, may be suitably arranged in other selected ones of the several groove groups. Thus, partition elements 37, 38', 39' and 40', as suggested in dotted lines, may be arranged to form a larger square enclosure. As a still further alternative, partition elements 37' and 33' might be arranged in the innermost grooves of the groups 28 and 30 to cooperate with partition elements 39 and 40, arranged in intermediate grooves of the groups 32 and 34, respectively, to define an elongated rectangular, enclosure.

As is suggested in FIG. 3, the plate 26 may be formed with one or more circular grooves 36, in addition to or instead of the rectilinear grooves heretofore described, for the reception of curved partition elements (not shown) to define a circular enclosure.

As is suggested in FIG. 5, the present invention is adapted, also, for use in costuming for theatrical Work or for festivals or shoc advertising. Thus, to suggest an egg-head character, a huge replica 41 of an egg might be securely attached to a carriage plate 26' for removable connection to the element 23 of the helmet. Quite obviously, the illustration is intended to be only representative and not limitative, since any grotesque, decorative or otherwise fanciful device might be attached to, or built integral with, the carriage 26.

Obviously, the platform 26, the partition elements or the head piece itself might carry advertising or other legends whereby the device disclosed herein might be adapted for premium distribution.

I claim as my invention:

1. A carrier helmet comprising, in combination, a fiexible head piece constructed and arranged to fit snugly the head of a wearer and including adjustable means for securing the head piece in place, a carriage plate, means for removably securing said carriage plate to said head piece substantially at the crown region of said head piece, the upper surface of said carriage plate being provided with a series of trackways located at varying distances from the center of said plate, and partition means selectively engageable with said trackways to define an upstanding, perimetral enclosure for restraining articles against lateral movement while supported on said plate within such enclosure.

2. A carrier helmet comprising, in combination, a flexible head piece constructed and arranged to fit snugly the head of a wearer and including adjustable means for securing the head piece in place, said head piece further including means providing a relatively stitf, flat surface at its crown region, said surface being substantially horizontal and facing upwardly when said head piece is in place, carriage means, and separable fastening means for securing said carriage means to said head piece, one element of said fastening means being carried by said carriage means and a cooperating element of said fastening means being carried by said head piece within the boundaries of said fiat surface, said carriage means comprising a flat, polygonal platform formed, at its surface remote from said fastening means, with a group of trackways parallel with, and variously spaced from, each lateral edge of said platform, and partition means selectively engageable with one trackway of each group to define an upstanding, perimetral enclosure, of any selected one of a plurality of sizes, for restraining articles against lateral movement while supported on said platform within such enclosure.

3. The helmet of claim 2 in which each said track-way is a groove and said remote surface of said platform is formed with a further group of grooves, each groove of such further group being in the form of a circle described about the center of said platform.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

